After Convergence ended, the potential of getting parts of the DC Universe before the New 52 launched was more of a possibility than ever before. Although taking place on the New 52 Earth, last week we saw the return of the pre-New 52 Superman. This week another title launches out of the changes from Convergence in Titans Hunt. This is another opportunity to bring back a team that has such a strong history within the DCU, and a chance to bring back characters that are iconic and representative of DC’s generational heroes and sidekicks. Although this is just one issue in, it unfortunately focuses too much time on the far less than iconic characters, and complicates an already complicated recent DC history.

This story takes place on the New 52 Earth, but the heroes on this Earth, like Arsenal and Grayson, are having thoughts of a life that’s not the one they’re currently living. These thoughts are having different effects on the characters, so much so that Arsenal has started drinking again. If there was ever a character that’s had a more depressing adulthood than Roy Harper, I’m not sure who it is. Writer Dan Abnett has him literally falling over drunk as he attempts to cope with the thoughts of his alternate life.

Although Grayson and and Arsenal appear, it’s characters like Gnarrk and Lilith who get a large part of the spotlight. I love the DCU, but I haven’t yet read the 1970s version/series of the Teen Titans (I hope to correct that shortly) and that’s where these characters first appear. For new fans, or even long time DC fans like myself there isn’t a lot of connection to these characters. Add in the fact that the story is dealing with current versions of these characters remembering alternate earth memories, and this issue begins to lose the excitement of getting the most iconic team of Titans back together again. On top of that, the art by Paulo Siqueira and Geraldo Borges adds to the confusion with alternate pencil styles from one page to another. Grayson looks different from one page to the next, and is drawn just different enough to make me initially uncertain if it was even the same character.

Titans Hunt is a book that left me shaking my head in confusion and frustration. These are not the Titans I wanted to see, and the Titans I did get, like Arsenal, are not the version of the character I wanted to read about. The two art styles throughout this book didn’t add up to a more enjoyable whole, and after all is said and done I think this will add another layer of complexity for readers old and new. I will hold out hope that somehow by the end of this series we see a Titans team that’s close to the iconic teams of the past, but after reading this first issue, I’m not sure we will.